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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Smith march in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chapter 6?

2. How must firefighters find the rewards in their profession?

3. What film does Smith reference when discussing the station's housekeeping chores in Chapter 10?

4. How old was Smith when he filled out an application to the fire department?

5. Why did the city fence off the empty lots near the fire station?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what key way does Smith say the modern firefighting exams are different from those of the past?

2. What was Smith's attitude toward the man hanging around at the Union Avenue fire in Chapter 10? How did he feel about the man screaming that the firemen were not taking fire victims to the hospital because they didn't care about black people?

3. Why does Smith suggest that perhaps even with guidance, South Bronx resident Tina de Vega may still have ended up on drugs and prostituting herself?

4. What were Smith's initial views of firefighting before he joined the department?

5. Is the poverty seen by Dennis Smith in the South Bronx different than the poverty in which he grew up?

6. How did Dennis Smith feel as a child when the welfare inspector visited his family?

7. Despite the death of the baby in the last fire in the book, Smith was more committed than ever to remaining a firefighter. What did he see at that fire that reinforced his tremendous loyalty to his fellow firemen?

8. Why did Smith view being a firemen as a sign of success when he was a child?

9. Why were some of the firefighters unwilling to help out at the department's occasional parties for neighborhood kids?

10. How did the firefighters react to the call in Chapter 7 in which they tended to a man who almost overdosed on drugs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Smith discussed the need for the firefighters to pay for much of the equipment and supplies they needed for their jobs. Why do you think New York was reluctant to provide sufficient provisions for fire departments? How did the firefighters view this lack of support and what would they have liked to do about it?

Essay Topic 2

The firefighters of Engine Co. 82 made several efforts to connect with the neighborhood children, for example, through ice cream parties. Do these sorts of community outreach projects ultimately help the community and if so, how? How can seeing authority figures "at ease" and off the job help children see them as non-threatening? Smith at one point expresses dismay that firefighters willing to to crawl through a fire to rescue one black child will share ice cream with 100 black children. In what ways do these community outreach projects help firefighters themselves? Do they normally get the chance to see people at their best? Can getting to know the neighbors outside of emergency calls help firefighters develop a deeper and more satisfying relationship with their community?

Essay Topic 3

Although willing to run into burning buildings, Smith was nevertheless unhinged by the sight of cockroaches and was unable to remain in a roach-infested room for long. What images were conveyed to Smith by the sight of the roaches and why was he unable to ignore them? How did his knowledge of cockroaches provide him with a deeper understanding of the conditions in which the South Bronx residents live?

(see the answer keys)

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